Anything
by Fenroar Greyfront
Summary: Oliver Oken didn't know much about himself. He didn't know he was the jealous type. He didn't even know he would go so far to prove himself to a girl he thought he'd merely had a crush on. MxO LxJ Oliver Centric OOCness Complete
1. Depression

This is my first multi chapter Hannah Montana fic. Uh, I don't really know why I decided to write this, but once I started, I couldn't stop. Also, it had much shorter chapters than I usually used to write. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it.

Just remember that:

1. It is always in Oliver's POV, **_unless it says it's not_**.

2. It is rated T for a reason. There will be mostly foul language somewhere along the line.

3. Oliver hates Jake in this fic.

4. It is implied that Lily is kinda with Jackson, but we'll touch on that later.

5. You should read this fic under Arial font. The format looks better ;)

And, that's pretty much it. Enjoy.

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 1: Depression**_

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I'd been inexplicably mopey this week.

For four months, I'd been slightly happy without Jake around. But, four months ago, I was torn to pieces when I came back from buying a snack to find that he and Miley had just kissed.

But, I mentioned nothing. I strayed away from the subject of Jake at all times. And of course, after he left for Romania for four months, Miley still called and webcamed him everyday. I tried to ignore it, and I was able to stand it for _four long months_. The pain of seeing her laugh and giggle because of some other guy – some pretty boy who she hadn't met until a few weeks ago – stung me. It stung real bad.

I'd give sad smiles to her whenever she spoke of Jake. I don't think she knew they were sad. And she'd smile a smile she'd only have for Jake. A happy, beautiful one.

I hadn't told anyone about how I felt.

Except for one day, after Lily and I walked Miley home. We began walking back to Lily's place.

It was seven o'clock and the sun barely begun to set. It would've been a beautiful sight to see, but I was too busy thinking about why Miley could find Jake so amazing. I mean, he was _only_ a movie star, right?

Anyways, we'd been trudging on home slowly, when Lily turned around and looked at me.

"You like her, don't you?" she said out of the blue.

I paused. This question could go in many different directions. I chose the safe one.

"Who?" I asked dumbly.

"Miley," she rolled her eyes.

"Of course I like her. She's my friend," I said, trying not to let my voice waver. Too late.

"Yeah, right. I've seen the way you look at her," she said. Hearing her say that made me feel like donut. Was it that obvious?

"I don't like her that way. I'm happy for her. I'm happy she has Jake. I'm happy that she's happy!" I finished, as we turned the street corner.

"But you're not happy seeing her with Jake," Lily convinced herself.

Well, there was no worming my way out of this situation. She knew, and I could do nothing about a woman's intuition – or a woman's insistence.

"No," I looked the other way. "No, I'm not."

"Now we're getting somewhere!" she sighed with a smile.

"No, not really. We're just getting into my depression," I moped, showing a side that I'd been keeping hidden for a few weeks now.

"Youreally _do_ like her, don't you?" she asked, patting my back like I was a pet.

"I – I guess…" she already knew, so why did I have to rub it in more?

"Alright. Well, we'll do something about it."

My head whipped up, and I looked back down at her. She looked sympathetic. It also looked like her lip gloss was smudged.

I wanted to laugh. Miley and I had been standing out on the patio for a while when Lily said she needed to get something back from Jackson. I guess she meant a makeout session.

Trying not to laugh, I focused on what she said again.

"We can't. If we do – look…" I paused. It hurt me to say this, but I had to. For Miley. "Miley loves Jake. She's happy with him, and that's all I want. For her to be happy."

Lily shrugged.

"If you're sure you want to hear her talking about Jake every single day he's away in Romania, fine," she said. She was trying the whole reverse psychology thing.

We arrived at her house, and she turned to walk in, after giving me a quick smack on the back, with a sympathetic look on her face.

"See you later," she said as she trailed in.

"Yeah. See ya," I said waving.

I regretted not taking her up on that offer.

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Well, four months had passed, and the guy everyone, but me, loved to love, was back. Lily and I were dragged to the airport with Miley when she insisted we come with her in order to give her 'boyfriend' a good 'welcome back'.

The first thing she did when Jake got out of the gate, close to the private section, was hug and kiss him.

I froze in my spot, and Lily held my shoulder, looking back up at me worriedly. I shook my head at her, signaling I was slightly okay. I tried my hardest not to scream, hyperventilate, run away, or die.

The pretty boy came around to us, giving Lily a hug.

"Thanks for coming, you guys!" he said, as he gave my hand a firm shake.

I grimaced, but squeezed his hand harder. He pulled away quickly, turning back to Miley who'd had a moment's glance of concern on her face.

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The ride home in Jake's SUV limo wasn't as fun as it was supposed to be.

I mean, there was a TV and a bar and everything, but I couldn't bring myself to pig out as usual. And, did I mention there was a hot tub? A freakin' hot tub! I thought they were lying about that in the movies…

Anyways, Lily and Miley had come prepared with their bathing suits, and I had too. I was wearing my trunks already, since we were going to go to the beach afterwards.

The three of them were sitting in the hot tub while I watched TV. A bunch of depressing love songs and music videos came on, almost making me cry. When I turned back to see Jake and Miley splashing water at each other, I almost _did_ cry.

Finally, Miley said she was gonna go dry for a few minutes. So, she got out of the hot tub and rubbed her lower body with her towel. Jake was too busy talking to Lily to notice, but hell, I did.

No doubt did I feel like a pervert, but I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away.

She finally took a seat next to me, taking out a soda from the mini fridge.

"Why don't you come in?" she asked, taking a swig.

I didn't look at her. I couldn't. Her presence was already intoxicating.

"Forgot my trunks," I made the excuse.

Her hand traveled to the edge of my trunks, and she lifted them up a little. I shuddered from her soft touch.

"What d'you call these, then?" she asked with a smile.

I looked at her, unsmiling. I saw that it stung her a little.

"I just don't feel like it right now, okay?" I said softly, trying not to sound like a bastard. I hope it worked.

"Okay. If you're sure," she said shrugging, placing her soda in one of the cup holders. She climbed back into the hot tub, resuming her talking with Jake.

Lily looked back at me worriedly, and I shrugged and shook my head.

I think I need to start going on depression meds.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Okay, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It starts a little slow, but there will be some action (both romance and real action) later. Please review on your way out if you can. Reviews encourage me to update faster. 


	2. Water

Alright, thank you very much to the people who took the time to review! Those who haven't, that's alright, but it does always give an author a push to update. I won't be able to update as fast anymore, cause the school work won't stop comin' in, so, please be patient with me.

Anyways, from here on, the story is going to continue on with a gloomy, dark, sad mood – because that's basically how Oliver feels. The ending my remain the same, or may lighten up… well, you'll have to keep reading to find out.

Anyways, enjoy.

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 2: Water**_

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As a whole "welcome home" thing for Jake, we went to the beach to celebrate.

We always went to the beach, but, I believe Jake deserved something as cheap as a trip to the beach, since it was only about a meter away from his house.

Sorry. That's just the jealousy getting the better of me.

Well, once we got to the beach, we just started walking.

The day was really bright and sunny, and the environment was pretty happy. I was probably downing the good vibes with the negative ones radiating off of me.

Miley and Jake went ahead, holding hands, while Lily stayed back to talk to me.

"So, how does it feel to have Mr. Ryan back?" she asked, and I seriously just felt like telling her to shut up. I wanted to die once I saw their hands link. I wanted to die once I saw that 'I'm on cloud nine' smile Miley gave Jake.

"It feels fine. I don't like Miley like that anymore," I convinced myself. Maybe if I said it enough, it would come true, and I could be happy again.

"Really?" she asked, sounding as if she actually believed me.

"Yeah. It's been four months. I'm a guy. We bounce back from these crushes quick," I said shrugging. I was starting to deceive myself. I began to believe that maybe I didn't really want Miley as much as I used to. I began to – most likely – deceive myself.

"Oh, okay," she nodded sarcastically.

"Lily, please. Just leave me alone for now, okay?" I said. I knew she was going to convince me that I still liked Miley, but I didn't need that - because, I was slowly coming to the conclusion that I could never have her.

Avoiding Lily's pep talk, I walked off over to Rico's and sat at the counter.

"What'll you have, Oken?" Jackson's voice appeared out of nowhere, as he popped up from behind the counter. A jumped, losing balance, as I tipped back off of the stool. I hit the sand, glad it wasn't cement, then gathered myself, standing back up.

"Jesus – don't scare me like that…" I had to say as he laughed.

"Sorry," he said, stopping immediately. "So, what'll you have?"

"Just… just give me some chicken or something," I said sighing.

"Chicken? No, that disappeared a few months ago after the whole chicken suit gimmick," he said with a smile. I tried to smile – I'd never had a problem with smiling before – until today. He looked at me strangely, and I frowned further, because I'd suddenly had a craving for chicken.

Damn.

I _never_ got what I wanted.

He probably noticed my mopiness because he looked around and surveyed his surroundings.

"Hey, isn't Jake supposed to be coming home today?" he asked, probably attempting to lighten the mood.

Nope.

It pretty much dampened it.

A lot.

I nodded with, what I believed to be, a grim look on my face. I think he got the message when he started randomly wiping the counter.

"You look pretty down, so… how bout a hot dog on the house?" he asked with a slight smile.

Hell, I was hungry, so why the hell not?

"Yeah, please. Thank you," I sighed, looking back over at the beach. Jake was walking down the shore alone, with no Lily or Miley in sight.

I turned around, as Jackson placed the hot dog in its bun.

"Here ya go," Jackson said, handing it to me.

"Thanks," I said, delicately taking the food. I ate slowly, and carefully, sure not to make a mess. I knew that wasn't like me, AT ALL, but, Miley liked it when I ate neat.

And she wasn't here.

Man, this whole "I don't like Miley thing" isn't working.

I didn't look at Jackson, but I know he was trying to find out what was up with me. Then, he nodded knowingly.

I looked back at him.

"Girl problems, huh?" he asked, and I nodded slowly.

Well, Jackson was a guy. Lily was the only person I'd _slightly_ confided in about my troubles, and she couldn't really understand how I was feeling. As a guy. Maybe he could.

"Yeah. Sort of," I said, shrugging. I wasn't about to tell him the cause of my problems was his own sister.

"What about?"

"She likes some other guy," I huffed out, not wanting to give too much away.

"Ah… I see. As usual. Is he considered 'hot' in the girl world?"

I stiffened. Considering Miley had called him hot numerous times, I rolled with it.

"Yeah."

"Then, Oliver," he said, reaching over, patting my back, "you don't have a chance in the world."

I frowned and sighed.

"Yeah, thanks," I let out sarcastically, taking in the last bite of the hot dog.

"No problemo, pal. Always glad to help," he smiled, as if he actually did help me.

I guess he kind of did.

He disheartened me at first, but I guess he just stuck it in my face that I really couldn't have her, and that she'd never be mine – and I guess you know who I'm talking about by now.

I'm Oliver Oken. I live in a dream world, but sometimes, I've gotta suck in the reality.

And this was one of those times.

The reality was, I would never hold, kiss, or have this girl as my own. I'd never have her staring at me in admiration, wanting to cling to my side at all times. I would never have her realize that I'm so madly in love with her.

I'd never have Miley Stewart love me back.

I made my way back to the beach as I thought about this, my feet trudging through the sand.

I finally reached the water, taking a seat right close to the water. I only had a wifebeater on ever since we'd reached the beach, and I couldn't have cared less if it got wet.

The water touched my feet, sending cold sensations through my body. I shivered for a moment. But I noticed a shadow cast over me, blocking the sunlight, and I realized I had shivered because the devil's spawn had just arrived.

"Hey Oliver," Jake said in that 'yo, 'sup' voice.

I didn't look at him, but I did mutter a "hey" in reply.

"Where's Miley and Lily?" I asked, looking around the beach.

He stayed casting a shadow over me, making me feel cold on this sunny, warm day.

"I saw them go into the water. They must be out there swimming or something," he replied, and I nodded.

They always did that when I left to eat.

They did something called a 'water conference' sometimes, where they floated pretty far down and talked about something super girly, and super important. I always loved looking at the ocean, but I hated to swim. In truth, I could barely swim, unless you called slow doggy paddling swimming. So, being expert swimmers, Miley and Lily would go off, knowing I wouldn't follow.

In the distance, the water began to roll, high into the air, causing many surfers to wade towards it. High waves began to form, and the lifeguard's voice filled the air.

"All please evacuate the water for a brief period of time!" he exclaimed.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. The high tide could be taken by experienced surfers, but swimmers were doomed.

The lifeguard spoke again.

"All please evacuate the water for a brief period of time!" he said a lot louder, causing many children, parents, and teens to run out of the water, and far away from it. I stayed where I sat, waiting for Miley and Lily. Jake was still standing behind me, so we were quite visible since we were the only ones who dared stay so close to the water.

And… I waited.

I heard the lifeguard's voice repeat several times, but no Miley or Lily came up from the water.

I stood.

The wave was enormous and was already gaining on the land, casting a large shadow over anything in its way.

My best friends had not come up yet.

"Where the hell are they?" I exclaimed over the noise of many people chattering over the rare occurrence.

"I… don't know," Jake replied.

I sneered.

This was bad.

Really bad.

The only word I could muster up had been pretty bad, as I stared off into the distance, two girls nowhere in sight.

"Fuck."

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Gasp! Ollie said the "F" word. Tsk, tsk, tsk. But, it's for a good reason… please review on your way out. Reviews make me update faster – and I think you can do better than six : D


	3. Suspicion

Here's a quick update.

This chapter is basically about what was going on with Miley and Lily while Oliver was eating, and doing his own thing.

And, a quick thanks to all my reviewers. I heart you guys!

Now, on with the story.

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_**Anything**_

**_Chapter 3: Suspicion _**

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**Lily's POV  
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Miley had dragged me out into the water for a water conference.

So we swam really far out, where people swimming by the shore were only seen as little specs.

"What's going on?" I asked, hanging onto my kickboard, floating atop it as Miley leant against a noodle float. You didn't really expect us to tread water for an hour, did you?

"I should ask you the same thing!" Miley replied.

My eyebrows rose, and I had absolutely no clue about what she was saying.

"No, seriously. Water conferences are used for emergency. What do you want to tell me?" I asked, grabbing the noodle float, and shaking it.

Steadying the float so I would stop, Miley looked back at Jake - who currently was eating some ice cream and walking around the beach - but not really. Her eyes were kinda searching the _whole_ beach.

It made me wonder who or what she was looking for. After a few minutes of_ really_ thinking about it, I got my answer.

It was a 'who'.

And I knew who she was looking for.

"It's just… Oliver. He's been acting so strange around me lately. Well, strange in general," she reminded herself, and I blinked knowing exactly what she meant.

I know if he ever let her know of his feelings, he'd probably want to do it himself. So, I played dumb.

"What d'you mean? Oliver always acts strange," I reassured her, nodding.

Her eyes narrowed at me, as if she was trying to read my mind. I got kinda freaked out and kicked backwards a little.

"Are you hiding something from me?" she asked, moving closer.

"Miley. I don't hide secrets from you," I lied. That was one of the first times I'd ever lied to her – but this was important! We're talking about best friend confidentiality – matters of the heart here. And, no matter how close Miley and I were, I couldn't let Oliver down.

"Yeah… you're right," she sighed. But it was that, "I'm going to say something right after this" sigh.

And boy was I right.

"Are you and Oliver going out, 'cause I'm totally cool with that if you thought you had to keep a secret from me," she let out quickly with a problematic look on her face, so I barely heard what she said. Being a girl, I talked fast myself.

So, since I _did_ understand what she said, I almost threw up in my mouth.

"Ew, oh my God, Miley!" I said as I made disgusted faces.

"What?" she asked, with a small smile. She looked a little concerned and remorseful, but calm. She thought she was right.

"Ugh, don't say that. I don't like Oliver. Oliver doesn't like me. _We don't like each other_," I let out. I almost said "I've been sneaking around, making out with, and groping, _your brother_ for four months!" but I didn't think that was such a good idea.

"Well, I don't know Lily. You're always touching his shoulder, or patting his back. You're always looking at him, and he always looks back at you with some weird look. Trust me, I saw," she said.

I just wanted to scream that it was her fault I'd been doing all those things. It's because he was too busy basically dying because of his unrequited love for her that I had to treat him like a terminally ill friend. Boy, did I want to tell her that. But I couldn't, even though it was hard keeping her in the dark about these things.

"Trust me. _I don't like him_. I promise," I nodded at her slowly, as to make her understand.

"… okay. I believe you."

I don't think she did.

"But that still doesn't answer the question," she continued.

Okay, I love Miley. She's the sister I never had. But, seriously, she needed to be smacked upside the head, and be given a reality check.

First of all, the Jake thing probably wouldn't last too long. He may be faithful now, but when they're together for a while, he's going to get tired. And then he's going to go off and meet someone in Rome, or England, or whatever, and fall in love with that person.

Second of all, Oliver's probably the best thing that Miley could have. He seems like he really truly cares for her. He doesn't make a move to eliminate Jake because he wants her to be happy. She's the only girl he hasn't ever outwardly hit on with his corny pick up lines. And Miley _did _like Oliver back then too.

You know "If We Were a Movie"? The first verse was about Jake when she was still pissed at him, but all the rest was about Oliver. And hell, she doesn't even know it herself. When she was writing that song, I told her to think about the guy she liked, since she got stuck. She shook her head, wrote about how much Jake pissed her off. Then she calmed down and got this dreamy smile on her face while she finished the song off. The next day she passed me a note in the middle of class.

'I think I like Oliver'.

I looked back at him, snoring and drooling on his desk and held back a laugh, and she blushed.

She took that confession back a few days later when she 'figured' that she liked Jake.

Whew, God, I've been holding too much back today.

"Probably guy hormones or something," I tried, seeing if she'd believe that, even though I _did _want to blurt out everything I'd just been thinking about.

She sighed.

"Right. That could be it… I mean, I don't know anything about guy hormones, but… I don't know. Oliver just doesn't act so mopey and sad. It's not in his nature. He's supposed to be Smokin' Oken, playing the fields, and hitting on girls, and getting slapped in the face. But he's not. He's so quiet and not himself these days…"

Again, her fault.

"Well, I'm sure he'll bounce back somehow," I said. The only way he'd ever bounce back is if he had Miley, or miraculously fell in love with someone else – which wasn't too likely right now.

As we talked we began to wade back towards the shore. The water was kinda pushing us forward too – pretty slowly, though.

"I hope. It feels weird having him act like that all the time," she said, and I shrugged. I was so tempted to tell her everything.

Suddenly, I grew cold, and the sun's heat that had been beating down on my back disappeared.

I looked at the shore, and the hot lifeguard was saying something, probably important, on the speakers, causing everyone to run out off the water.

I looked to my right, seeing Miley look behind her. Then I watched her mouth open, an ear piercing scream sounding, forcing me to look back as well.

A monstrously huge wave was gaining on us.

And fast.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Dun, dun, duuuun…. Keep the reviews comin', and I'll keep updating as fast as I can.


	4. Lost

I'm back – and with a brand new chapter! Yay!

**Mrs.JoeJonas, **yeah, the story is pretty dark right now. The next few chapters will be kind of dark as well, so, please bear with me for a while. Things… just might brighten up a little later.

And, everyone else that reviewed, here is the chapter you've been waiting for! Enjoy…

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 4: Lost**_

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**Lily's POV**

At seeing the huge wave, I began to scream too, but before I could let my fear out, I felt hard, cold, and heavy water splash against my back, plunging me into the water. I got the wind knocked out of me, as well as the unwelcoming feeling of cold, salty water engulfing my body. My eyes began to sting, and I froze.

Before I was submerged, I'd seen a glimpse of Oliver and Jake standing by the shore. But that was gone. All I saw was blue now.

I was also so unprepared for the impact that I'd swallowed some water. Thankfully, I'd been able to hold my mouth shut, and close off my breathing before my lungs filled up.

My heart was pumping wildly in my chest, and I was scared as hell. I had to concentrate if I ever wanted to see the sunlight, the beach, or Jackson again. I still had my kickboard pressed against my side, under my arm. It was fighting to raise me to the surface, but the current and tide was too strong. So I groped around behind me, finding Miley's noodle float. I saw her arms loosely handing around it, her eyes and mouth closed. Her eyes opened slightly, and I was a little relieved.

The push of the water shook me awake, and I remembered that I was practically drowning. The current was still strong, so I placed the end of the noodle float under my other arm, and held up my kickboard vertically so the current would bring me back to shore.

With some strong kicking, I began to move. My body started to fatigue, and I just wanted to let go of the kickboard and the noodle float, but I knew I couldn't. So I kept on, the tide tossing me left and right.

I just wanted to sleep at that point, and let the water take me in.

But I couldn't give up.

So I kept kicking, and kicking, and the water calmed, pushing me forward.

I almost breathed in a sigh of relief when I noticed that I was running out of air. This caused _major _panic.

Closing my eyes, I gave one last kick, leaving the water to decide both Miley's and my own fate.

I almost passed out, when I felt the cold, wet sand and kickboard against my body. The water moved off of me, and I felt the sun, Miley's noodle float still under my arm. The warmth emitting from my surroundings calmed me, though I was trembling, and I couldn't open my eyes.

Trying to sit up, I spat out some excess water, and breathed in the great, beautiful, and free, fresh air, thanking God that it existed. Then I greedily sucked the oxygen into my lungs as I panted. I hastily moved a lock of hair that'd stuck itself to the front of my face, and took in the sight of sunlight, and a huge group of people staring at me. I didn't even care, because I was delirious and light headed.

And, before I knew it, I was half sitting up, and Oliver was shaking me with his big, dry hands.

"_Lily!_" he cried, his eyes glossy. His hands were gripping my shoulders so hard that it hurt. "_Lily! Where is Miley!?"_ he screamed, shaking harder.

My head began to hurt, and I suddenly felt like crying. I just wanted to go home and sleep. I just wanted to be wrapped in my comforter or just leaning against Jackson, with his arms wrapped around me. I just wanted to be warm, and dry, and alive again.

But once he starting repeating Miley's name over and over again, my brain slowly began to work. My half-lidded eyes slowly opened, and the vision of Oliver half wet in his wife beater registered. He looked so frantic that it worried me. His eyes were all red, and glossy, and his mouth was open wide, screaming her name.

Screaming Miley's name.

My hearing began to work again, and once Oliver's voice was crisp and clear in my ears, tears began to run down my face.

I turned slightly looked at the noodle float on the sand.

There was no Miley holding onto it.

I heard Jake start to speak. It was the first time he'd spoken ever since he told Miley and I to 'have fun' when we swam out into the water.

"Oliver, calm down, she just got out of –"

"**_SHUT THE FUCK UP JAKE! LILY, WHERE THE HELL IS MILEY!?_**" Oliver screamed, his voice booming. The tears and the saltwater stung my eyes and my face as I heard him yell. He was extremely serious, and his grip was beginning to bruise me so very badly. Even through his frantic, tough, and worried exterior, a tear unexpectedly fell from his eye.

"_She was right behind me!_" I wailed out, shuddering. I didn't even know I'd opened my mouth to talk.

Nonetheless, I'd lost my best friend. She was gone. Forever. And it was my fault. She was out there, floating somewhere. My best friend, Miley.

Gone.

Forever.

And my other best friend.

I'd lost both of them.

Oliver would hate me for not being able to save her.

"_She's in the water! Oh my God, Oliver, I'm so sorry!_" I cried as loud as I could, tears spilling out of my eyes until I couldn't see anymore.

But, Oliver. I saw his face through the blur of tears. He froze, his face void of emotion.

Almost immediately after he heard what I'd had to say, he released me, and I fell onto the sand with a thump. Slight relief washed over me, and I felt like I was able to breathe again. My arms still hurt from holding onto the kickboard, as well as from Oliver's grip, and his shaking me. Even though I could breathe, and I had space, I could still feel tears coming down my face in rivers. I couldn't even close my eyes.

So, I looked up a little, and Jake was just standing there, staring at me with a distraught, wide eyed look on his handsome face. He was frozen in place, and the hot lifeguard was suddenly next to him, looking out at the ocean.

'_Miley… Miley, I'm so sorry… Miley…'_ I thought over and over again. I'd lost my best friend forever. I'd lost my other best friend as well. I just lost everything.

I couldn't move from where I was lying, so I just stayed still.

"Boy, do not go back into the – **_STOP_**!" the hot lifeguard exclaimed, but I heard a loud splash, and lots of other ones after that.

The lifeguard stood in his spot, as frozen as Jake. I couldn't see it, but I heard another huge wave coming on. I could picture the scary, dark curtain of water mounting up high in the air once again. I could picture Miley still next to me, as she looked up. I could picture her terrified face, her mouth wide open. I could almost hear her scream.

I only cried more.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was Jake's face, his eyes wide, staring out into the ocean, and far off into the distance. And before I met the darkness, I remembered wondering what he was looking at, or if he even cared that Miley was somewhere out there with the giant waves, and never ending ocean.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Keep the reviews coming, and you'll get to see what's going on with Oliver sooner! Thanks for reading, and… you know the drill.


	5. Breathe

Happy Turkey Day in advance! One of the things I'm most thankful for are my awesome reviewers. Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to review. To show my appreciation, I give you a shiny new chapter. I hope you enjoy it… and this chapter most definitely isn't the end – not even near.

By the way, I keep forgetting to put disclaimers in my stories. Well, don't sue me, cause if I owned anything from Hannah Montana, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction!

Uh, yeah, anyways, here is the chapter you've all been waiting for.

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_**Anything**_

**_Chapter 5: Breathe_**

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I could only think about my two best friends, lost out in the water.

Worry and panic began to strangle me to the point where I sunk onto my knees and pulled at my hairs, trying my hardest not to cry.

Were they lost forever?

Was Lily, my good friend, the athletic skater girl, Jake-fan, and Jackson-lover, gone forever? Was she taken from me, and yanked out of my life by the cruel hands of fate?

And Miley… the one I'd been pining for, for forever… the reason I hadn't been myself in a long time… the one I just couldn't stop being devoted to…Was… was she, the girl I'd fallen too hard for, gone forever?

It was then I had just come to realize that I loved Miley. It wasn't just a lingering crush either. It was real, and I felt it the moment I realized that I'd probably never see her again. Now she was lost, and she wasn't coming back to me, and I'd never even told her how I felt.

What's more… seeing the waves scared me so much.

Miley and Lily could have easily been drowning under their terror.

And I was so afraid of the ocean at times like this – even if these waves hadn't appeared since I was five. I hated the water, and I hated that I was too much of a coward that I couldn't even save my best friends.

But sudden relief washed through me as I saw Lily plop down on the sand.

The water had washed her up on shore, and she was holding onto her kickboard as if it were dear life itself, and a noodle float under her armpit. Jake slowly stepped forward, dumbfounded, with his eyes wide as I knelt to Lily's level.

Horror resounded through me as I realized Miley wasn't with her.

She struggled to sit up slightly, but I gripped her shoulders and pulled her upright, making her wince a little. I should've felt guilty, but there was no more room for guilt. I had begun to panic. I shook her, until she opened her eyes. She began to pant, and suck in deep breaths.

"_Lily! Lily, Miley!? Where is Miley!?" _I screamed, shaking her violently.

She looked kind of pained by what I was doing, but she wouldn't speak. Tears began to roll down her face, as she started choking out loud sobs.

That wasn't a good sign.

I shook her harder if that was even possible, and my heart began to ache. I didn't even know I'd been screaming Miley's name, because I was too horrified, and too scared to acknowledge what I was doing.

Lily looked back behind her at the noodle float on the ground, then back at me, crying even harder.

I heard Jake beginning to speak, his voice shaking. I didn't even need to look back to see his face was as pale as a ghost's.

"Oliver, calm down, she just got out of –"

"**_SHUT THE FUCK UP JAKE! LILY, WHERE THE HELL IS MILEY!?"_** I screamed. Nothing could interrupt me. Nobody could speak until I had Miley back, safe in my arms - - that is, if ever I was to see her again.

Lily opened her mouth, finally.

"_She was right behind me!_" she wailed out, shuddering.

I froze, though shaking her had already become a reflex.

A tear had already fallen onto my dry lap, and I was already crying.

_Was _is a past tense word.

_Was. _

She **_was_** right behind her.

She **_was_**.

**_Was_** meant she is **_no longer_** there.

Lily was wailing out some more words in a voice I'd never heard her use before. It was high and nasally, filled with sobs and shudders.

All I heard was "she", "water", "God", and, "sorry".

The thing that I'd feared most had taken away _my _Miley.

No.

No, I couldn't let it.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had released Lily, and shoved past Jake. And then I was diving head first into the water, swimming against the hard current.

I heard the life guard's voice as it blurrily reached my ears through the water. No. Nothing could stop me. Not the lifeguard_ or_ the water.

With all my strength, I was swam and I swam, the new tide knocking me this way and that, deeper under the water. I could no longer breathe, but I didn't even notice such a thing as my arms and legs fatigued from swimming so far against the current.

I knew I was far now – and I knew I was lost. I probably wasn't coming back.

The safety of the sand was gone, and all I saw below me was a deep shade of seemingly bottomless dark blue.

I wondered how Miley and Lily ever had the courage to swim out this far.

I wondered how the hell _I _even got this far. All I knew was that my arms and legs began to move and I'd started to cut through the water, even though it'd kept pushing me back.

I couldn't see Miley.

So, I hoped against hope, and I secretly prayed.

I prayed and hoped that I could have Miley Stewart, alive and well, back where she belonged. I know I would've done anything to save that girl.

But I guess my anything wasn't enough, as my eyelids drooped closed, the fatigue that'd built up in my body taking over.

'_So… this is how it ends…'_ I couldn't help but think to myself as I sank deeper into the water that I'd feared and hated the most. I began to be tossed harshly back and forth, water attempting to fill my lungs.

At least I know I died trying to save the girl I loved the most.

Too bad she'll never know now.

Before I gave in, and before I opened my mouth and let the water, my enemy, take me in and completely engulf me, the current pushed me backwards. I felt something stringy begin to attach itself to my face, so I opened my eyes slightly, still being pushed back by the current.

I opened my eyes completely, which had become hard, and looked before me to find Miley's body pressed up against mine, as the tide slightly calmed.

New life was restored within me, though I already knew she was gone. Somehow I knew that my enemy had pulled her away from me without her knowing how I felt.

But I wasted little time thinking, and I grabbed her waist, and pulled her against me, wading as hard as I could against the water.

The current helped me, and pushed me towards the shore, as I swung my arms against the water in wide strides, praying for air, and praying that the girl I held against my waist was not gone forever. But, the sudden burst of physical labor made me aware of the air I'd been lacking. I felt as if my lungs were about to explode, so I began to panic, and I begun to push faster and faster. The water pushed me under again, and the tide greedily shoved me back.

I thought I'd started to cry, because I really couldn't breathe.

Just when I thought that it was the complete end, a huge force pushed me from behind, sending me to God knows where. I was about to faint, when I felt the wet sand against my face, and the water's weight lift off of my body.

I sucked in some air, but acted quickly. With my arms and legs still shot, I tried my hardest to carry Miley as I crawled for drier land.

Everybody began to crowd me, and I began to feel as if I were being suffocated, and plunged deep into the water again.

"No!" I sputtered out. "_Stay the fuck away!_" I yelled, as I took in all the air I could. I'd never used the 'F word' so many times in my life.

So tired and breathless, I pushed down on Miley's chest, and then lowered my lips onto hers as I tilted her chin up.

I breathed into her, the life giving air that had saved me.

I did it again and again, finding my attempts vain. To the right of Miley's body, I saw Jake's feet, but ignored his useless presence.

I pushed so many times, and breathed into her.

I didn't know it, but tears began spilling down my cheeks, as they pooled onto Miley's chest.

"_BREATHE, DAMN YOU_!" I cried out through sobs, as I tried to keep my breathing straight.

It had been the eleventh time I'd pushed and breathed into her that I realized that she was gone, and taken away from me forever. I know I should've stopped trying way before that, but, I couldn't. I couldn't give up hope, and I didn't want to believe that she was gone.

But, she was.

Miley was gone because of the stupid ocean.

_My _Miley was gone because _I _couldn't save her sooner.

With a ruthless spirit, I tried one last time, pushing tiredly at her chest, all the true fatigue of swimming against the rough tide finally getting to me.

And I breathed into her again.

Pulling back, I saw no reaction.

And doing the sickest, most horrible thing, I kissed her lips. I kissed Miley Stewart's dead body.

And then I did the cruelest thing anyone could do to a dead body.

I hammered her chest once with the side of my fist, tears spilling down my cheeks.

A lot of people began to whisper, a whole group already surrounding me and the dead body of the one I loved.

I was breaking down, and I wanted nothing more than to just go back into the ocean and let it take me away like it did Miley.

The lifeguard shook his head, and I just cried.

I almost stood and went back into the water.

And then a miracle happened.

Miley's bright blue eyes shot open, and seawater spewed from her mouth and onto my face.

Under any other circumstances, I would have said "ew", but I felt relieved beyond belief, like anvils had been lifted off my shoulders.

I wasn't exactly sure if it was all real, though.

It was too good.

It must have been a dream.

I don't really recall.

All I remember was smiling, and passing out after that.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Hmm... the ending must be confusing for you. Oh well. If you thought this was depressing, Miley's funeral will be! Oops! Did I just say that? Haha, just kidding, don't listen to me, tune me out please, I said nothing. My "Author's Notes" are kinda crazy, so whatever I say about the story in them may or may not happen.

Anyways, have a Happy Thanksgiving! And remember, reviews are immensely appreciated, and are rewarded with speedy updates.


	6. Doubtless

I'm back again… after a long, long, long time – for this story anyways. Sorry I haven't updated in over a month, and thank you for your patience. I had to choose the exact route I was going with this, and I didn't want this story to be rushed, so thanks for bearing with me. Chapter seven is in the midst of being written, and an update isn't likely until after the 26th because of mid-terms (silently weeps). I may be able to update chapter seven before exams start (23rd), so, cross your fingers for me so my teachers don't give me a crapload of homework before exams… and I can get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

Anyways, again, thanks for your patience.

This chapter may be a 'what the heck just happened?' chapter for you, but it'll all work itself out, and for that to happen, I'll need more of your patience.

Okay, I'm done talking. Enjoy.

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_**Anything**_

**_Chapter 6: Doubtless _**

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"Dude, wake up. Come on, stop being a baby. Wake up," I heard a voice calling.

I couldn't really determine who owned the voice. I was so out of it that it could've been a girl or a guy speaking. All the same, none of it really mattered to me, because I was just too damn tired to care.

But, I started caring when I felt a cool, rough hand begin to make little slaps on my cheeks. I wished it had been a dream, so I could sleep more… so I shut my eyes tighter in the hopes that it was.

"Come on, man," I heard the voice again, and my hearing had sharpened since I was now half awake – thanks to whoever was slapping me. It was a guy speaking.

"Stop that! He just saved your girlfriend. Let him rest if he wants to," a girl's voice called out, and I suddenly wanted to hug whoever owned that voice. What I was more relieved to hear was that I saved this guy's girlfriend's life. I don't know why, but I felt ecstatic at hearing it… though I knew I didn't like the fact that the girl I saved was this guy's girlfriend. Ow. I just hurt myself thinking.

"I'm just… checking if he's alive," the guy's' voice said. It was familiar, and it brought unpleasant memories to mind.

"Hah, please. You've done enough," I heard another guy's voice call. It had some sort of twang to it, a twist in the accent. "Now, leave the guy alone, and do something else, like you did the whole time."

"I would've done something! I just… I don't like to swim – especially in waters like that. I'm water-phobic," I hear the guy with the lower, gruffer voice, speak.

I let my eye open slightly, to have it blinded by the sunlight on one side, though the rest of it was obscured by three, tall, towering figures.

I saw that blonde kid again, along with that blonde girl that I made out to be my best friend, and that short guy who I remembered to be my other best friend's brother.

"So is _he_," the blonde girl points at me, and everyone looks down at me, so I shut my eyes again, the image of all of them staring down at me burned into my eyelids. "And_ he_ did something."

Nobody spoke for a while, and I found myself drifting back to sleep, which was much easier than it used to be.

"Maybe it's time you stopped thinking about what's best for you. Maybe you should start thinking about others," the girl said again, and I remember her name. Lily. I felt stupid for not remembering at once.

"I'm sorry, okay?! What was I supposed to do? Swim out there and find her? Do you know how dangerous that is? And you – I didn't see_ you _do anything! I didn't see anyone do anything!" the first guy's voice chimes in passionately, and I remember his voice, and his name. Jake – probably the reason I wanted to punch something the minute I heard his voice.

"_He_ did!" Lily, and who I remember to be Jackson, said in unison.

I almost smiled smugly, until I remembered I was supposed to be unconscious.

"So, Oken did. How about you? How about everyone on the beach?" I heard Jake say. He had somewhat of a point there.

"I entered a stage of overwhelming panic and exhaustion and passed out. Jackson was at work. The lifeguard had no emotional attachment to Miley, and his orders were not to go out into a tide like that. And you… your tan would've been ruined," Lily spat. Go Lily!

"You guys…" I heard Jake weaken, and I felt a little sorry for him.

Just a little.

I mean… just because I risked my life out there for Miley doesn't mean everyone would've done the same thing… even if they loved Miley like I had. I was delirious too. Maybe Jake's brain was working properly, and he realized that it had been a nearly hopeless cause and that the chances of anyone ever finding Miley again were one in a billion.

Then again… he didn't do anything.

Nothing.

"… I was panicking too. I froze up, and I'm sorry," he said softly.

Froze up?

He wasn't too frozen up to tell me to back down from shaking the living daylights out of Lily… or to keep walking around in circles while Miley was out there.

"The important thing is… that Miley's okay, right?" he asked, and that was the smartest thing he said the whole time he was talking.

I heard Lily sigh, but I didn't hear Jackson say anything. I could just picture him standing there with his arms crossed.

"I guess you're right," he said, and I couldn't help but feel a little disheartened. Everyone was on Jake's side again? Well, he had the uncanny ability to pull everyone to his side – I mean, it worked on Miley. It must work on everyone else if it worked on Miley.

"What about Oliver? He's still unconscious," Lily asked.

"He's breathing, he's fine. Now, please, let's see Miley," Jake said, and I wanted to stick my foot down his throat. Yeah, just leave the guy that saved Miley's life to dry up on the sand, right? Obviously, I didn't care much about what happened to me. But, still. I wanted to see Miley too, and it wasn't fair they got to go back and see her a second time when_ I_ saved her. I think I deserved to see her, though I think it would've helped if I could open my eyes and stand.

"We're not leaving without the guy that saved my little sister's life," I heard Jackson say. I can finally say I got on his good side from hearing that… and from his countering Jake, I knew I was higher on his list of 'guys that are allowed to hang with Miley'.

I could've sworn I heard Jake laugh "I was just kidding" quietly, and nervously.

Then, I heard Jackson lean down, and felt him poke at my cheek with a finger. "Hmm…" he paused. Then he poked at my eyelid pretty hard – hard enough for me to jump fully awake, some feeling coming back into the rest of my body.

"Ow…" I whispered, my voice hoarse.

"Well, that was easy," Lily smiled, and I looked at her from where I sat, her hand on Jackson's shoulder.

"Miley…? Where?" I asked, not wanting to use up too much energy on speaking. I was still half conscious. I had the right to speak like a cave man.

"Miley at house. Ogga booga," Jackson mimicked me with a caveman voice, though he had a smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes and tried standing, only to fall back down.

"Help?" I let out in a small, crumpled up voice. I felt like a five year old girl that'd fallen off of her tricycle.

Jake grabbed at my wrist before I could say anything, and Jackson pulled at my other, so I was upright in a jolt.

Looking at me through confusing eyes, Jake slung my arm around his back and supported me as we began to walk.

Both Lily and Jackson were just as surprised as I was.

I was also surprised at the speed he was making us walk.

I didn't like being this close to Jake. His aura made me want to injure something. But he was helping me… and I was sure there was a catch.

"Thanks for saving Miley," he said, finally. Our pace slowed as we furthered from Lily and Jackson, just so they were out of earshot. "That was… really brave and heroic of you."

I remained silent, and he still didn't look at me, and I didn't look at him.

"I'm sure such an act of bravery would've won Miley over."

I tensed and I knew he felt it, because a sneer came across his face.

"W – what?" I asked, in a croaky voice.

"Don't play stupid Oliver. I get it. You like Miley," he said, as he looked at me with sharp, intimidating eyes.

"She's my friend. Of course I like her." I remembered saying that to Lily four months ago.

"Oken, no one jumps into a tide like that for a _friend _without wanting something in return," he said, and I couldn't help but feel angry. He was a presumptuous idiot who based his knowledge on one thing he saw.

"Let me go," I said, and he gripped harder so it hurt. I winced, and he loosened his grip again.

"I don't know what you thought you'd get out of that little hero act –"

"I saved Miley because I didn't want to lose her. I saved her because she's my friend, and I cared enough to do something about the fact she could've been gone forever. Don't even think for a minute I did it because I thought it was going to make her fall in love me," I said, and Jake's expression softened a little.

Just a little.

He was too cocky. Sure… he was soon turning sixteen – probably got held back a few grades ago, if you ask me. Big deal. He was an idolized actor. But just because he was almost a year older than everyone in our class, and an actor, didn't make his word law or truth.

"Right. I think it'd be best if you just… you know, left Miley alone a while, just so she can recuperate. Seeing you might make her remember that horrific experience," he said, his words venomous. He was wearing an actor's face – that threatening face he used in _Zombie High._

"Huh?" I said, my brain still asleep.

"I'm just saying, Oken. This hero act… don't think for a minute that this'll win Miley over. I love her, and she loves me, and we're doing great. Don't mess this up."

Wow, he really stuck to his assumptions well – even when they were blatantly wrong.

We arrived at the Stewarts' house before I knew it, and Jake let go of me, so I stood limp, falling face forward into the glass door.

I looked back at him, danger and warning in his eyes, and I don't know why I was so intimidated. I shouldn't have been afraid of him. What was the worst he could do? What was more… why was he so threatened? Did he think I actually had a chance with Miley _just because_ I saved her life? Well, that might not be a good 'just because', but, still. _I_ didn't even think I did. I knew Miley would never want me back, regardless of the circumstances… even though I knew I wanted her to.

Nonetheless, making me bang headfirst into the Stewarts' front door and threatening words were not what I expected after I'd just saved – it pains me to call her this - his girlfriend's life?

What ever happened to 'she's okay, and that's the important thing'?

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Jake is evil… no, he's just being a guy. A typical, skeptical boyfriend who is paranoid about his girlfriend and the guys she hangs out with. Anyways, Jake may not be so likable from here on out – this is from Oliver's POV, what d'you expect? – so be warned about that.

Anyways, reviews push me to cut into my homework time and write! So please review. I'm almost positive that it was because I didn't update for a long time that people began to review (due to impatience), so, let's not replay that again, or I might just have to wait another two months until my quota is met :P.

Twenty reviews is incredible, but fifteen is enough to make me happy – and anything in between will get me on the computer writing as fast as I can.

Thanks for reading, and remember… patience is a virtue… ;)


	7. Mask

Aloha, all my faithful reviewers in waiting.

**(You non author's note reading people **_**might**_** wanna read this one)**.

Thanks so much for all your patience.

Now, I have good news for me, and bad news (or possibly good, depending on the way you look at it) for you. I've finally finished this fic! As in, I have completed writing it. That's the good news. Bad news… I'm not gonna be posting all the chapters at once. This is just 'cause I wanna make sure people are still interested in the story – after so many months, it might not be as appealing as it once was, and that's _my_ fault. So, feedback is appreciated and encouraged as always.

After looking back at the story, I realized how weird I made the timeline and their ages, but, hey, creative license here! Heheh, but, you're free to imagine them at any age, or at any time in the series you wish to, since that fact isn't too essential to the storyline.

By the way, remember, **this fic is always in Oliver's POV, **_**unless it says otherwise**_

Anyways, enough of my rambling, please enjoy this chapter.

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 7: Mask**_

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I didn't enjoy bathing in the Stewarts' bathtub. Don't get me wrong – they had… uh… a great bathroom. But, I never liked using their upstairs bathroom – or anyone else's. It felt like sort of an invasion of privacy. There were a bunch of feminine things on the sink counter, as well as Miley's bra hanging on the towel rack.

Once I noticed that, I turned away, of course. I don't know why I felt so indecent just staring at an article of clothing – after all, I'd always stopped to stare at that Victoria's Secret store at the mall before…

I heard the door open and I almost said 'I'm not staring at your bra!' out loud, thinking that it was Miley.

"Here ya go Oken. Just leaving some clothes for you to change into on the towel rack – so don't even think about pulling that curtain open !" Jackson exclaimed.

Before I could make fun of Jackson saying how his clothes were probably too small for me, then thank him, the door shut. I almost sighed in relief. Jeez, I didn't really want to have a conversation with him while I was bathing.

After I was finished showering, I grabbed a fresh towel from the small cabinet above the toilet and dried myself, afterwards dressing up in Jackson's surprisingly large clothes. I then shook my head, sending water from my wet hair everywhere, finally reaching for the door. It was only after I'd opened the door, stepping into the non-shampooey smelling air, that the scent of saltwater hit me.

It was so strong… it made me feel nauseous the moment it contacted my nose.

And then I realized that that disgusting smell was my own hair. Still.

The last thing I wanted was to go around smelling like the stupid ocean.

So, leaving the door open, a leant over the edge of the bathtub, and began to rinse my hair again. I grabbed at the shampoo bottles, making a mix of whatever was there – hoping nothing was _particularly_ feminine and fruity.

I then worked the mix of liquids into my hair... maybe a little too hard. My nails were digging into my head as I worked to rid myself of the scent.

After that, I rinsed off, the smell lessening.

Yet, it was still there.

Small, but continuing to linger as if to annoy me.

"Damn seawater…" I muttered as I hit the side of the tub with the side of my fist.

I sighed, hearing the door creak open a little more. I stayed still, kneeling against the tub, not knowing who it was. Maybe it was Jackson again. Or Lilly. Or maybe Jake was gonna try to drown me…

"Hey…"

Music to my ears.

Miley's soft, low voice made me even more still. The way she spoke was so tender that it made me shiver. It was like she was whispering… but not really. It was… almost like she was afraid to talk to me.

And… wow. It seemed like ages since I'd heard that voice, when in reality it was only a couple of hours ago.

I didn't turn to look at her, only smiling to myself as I remained kneeling, against the bathtub.

We'd just gone through something completely traumatizing together… maybe it would be better if I just acted like good old, un-jealous me – the not borderline emo kid.

"Hey yourself," I said, glancing back at her briefly.

She looked at me unsmiling… her eyes a little wide and confused. But she was so beautiful as usual. She was a little pale, the healthy color not completely returned to her cheeks, but her hair was fluffy, tousled and down, and she was fidgeting with her fingers and biting her bottom lip. She looked so scared and vulnerable that I wanted to comfort her in anyway I could…. At least hug her – it was already something I'd been used to doing, but, considering how rough the past few months had been, I decided that that single action may have been awkward.

Before I began gawking at her, I turned back, finding it best to stay against the bathtub.

"Um… I'm… I don't know… what to say," she said slowly, her voice still incredibly tender that I shivered with every word that left her lips.

"Save your breath, Miles. It's alright. We've both been through something really big and… traumatizing today. You can thank me later," I said, wanting to escape at that moment before my voice got all hearty. I only threw in the last part to try and keep everything as positive and light as I could. I was trying to be like not jealous, happy, Oliver Oken again… for her sake.

"Oliver…" she whispered.

Oh God, why does she have to say my name like that?

"Hmm?" I asked, trying my hardest not to make my voice quiver.

"You haven't called me Miles since a… a while ago," she said, some surprise and relief in her voice.

"Oh yeah? I haven't noticed," I muttered, wondering how she could even remember. I closed my eyes, still listening to her intently.

"Yeah…" I heard her voice go all soft and throaty – like she was about to cry.

Oh no. I could never handle crying women.

So I finally stood up, not sure whether I wanted to face her or not.

"Oliver…"

I think I died a little on the inside when she called my name like that. All sniffly and whatnot.

"Yes… Miley?" I asked, still not wanting to turn around, as I shook my wet hair with my hand again, trying to look a little preoccupied.

"Why won't you look at me?" she asked, in that crying voice. That desperate one. That heart shattering voice. "Please look at me."

Would it have been rude to ask _why_?

Had the moment contained the levity of our old trio days, I would've laughed, and said "Okay – but I know that's 'cause you wanna see this face". Then I'd proceed to raising my eyebrows up and down, therefore making her stare at me with a weirded out expression. Then she'd probably end up grabbing me by shirt – therefore pulling out those nonexistent chest hairs – pulling me far too close to her, something I'd never admit I liked.

But, no. This was not one of those happy 'ole trio days. She was standing there. On the verge of crying.

And I gave in – being the pushover I always was.

I turned to look at her, trying to look indifferent and light, sitting on the edge of the tub.

"Yeah?" I asked expectantly. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, because her expression change from almost-crying to shocked, to maybe a little angry. But, it then softened, as her eyes darted from my face.

"I'm – thank you. You didn't have to… have to do what you did."

I bit my tongue back. From screaming "yes I did", but I didn't. I waited for her to continue.

"And I know I'll never be able to pay you back for it…"

Say you'll dump Jake.

"There's no way – nothing can ever compare to what you did for me…"

Sure something can. Toss Jake into _those waves _and see if he'll find his pretty boy body back to shore.

"…"

She paused, and I stood up. She looked up at me, a little stunned, as I stepped towards her, with no intention of doing anything whatsoever.

"So… thanks," she murmured, blinking up at me, a little flushed – quite a change from her pale face earlier.

Now, normally I would say something stupid like, "hah, you're blushing because of my sexiness", but that might've been too much of a jump from secretly emo Oken. So, slowly, I'd make my way back to normal Smokin' Oken. Having things the way they once were would make her feel better – would make her happy.

"Hey. It's okay. You're… important to me. I'd do it again if I had to," I said slowly, and it was the truth. Risking death, plus, the traumatic experience of being immersed in water for lung bursting minutes, is something I'd do for Miley any day.

I gave her a small smile, and she looked a little suspicious. She then looked into my eyes, as if trying to read me.

What, I don't know.

But she continued.

And she'd probably go on to be unsuccessful – I'd been masking my feelings for months now, and I doubt she'd be able to figure me out within minutes if she hadn't before.

See, I'm a wall.

A wall that couldn't be toppled by the strongest of waters.

A wall that could not be broken – not even by the angelic eyes of Miley Stewart.

A secretly emo wall, that happened to be very good at hiding behind… things.

I blinked down at her once, a small smile trying to find itself on my lips. It must've looked awkward, because I was so used to just cracking them all the time.

Before I could blink again, I almost got the wind knocked out of me.

Miley had enveloped me in a tight, sudden hug, before I could say "cat" – the reason for having the wind knocked out of me.

"Thankyousomuch…" she muttered into my shirt in one breath – well, Jackson's shirt (chances were he wouldn't be getting it back anyways, so I'll now classify it as mine).

After that thought, I could feel my heart thud faster, only to want her to back off, because she might've noticed. But there were no chances of that, so I only slowly brought my arms up around her waist to hug her back.

She started to sniffle again. She had a reason to… she was an emotional wreck. How couldn't she be? I know I am… given the fact that I'm sure I have some sort of personality disorder.

I ended up hugging her tighter – not only because it felt really good to be so close to her.

I just hated hearing her cry, just as much as I hated _seeing _her cry.

So… in an attempt to lighten the mood, I lent down slowly, and brushed some hair that'd been in her face back behind her ear and breathed in softly, trying to sound as class-clownish as I always had.

"You'resowelcome."

At this, she squeezed my body tight, real quickly, again, and then pulled back slightly, so that she was looking up at me. Her eyes were still watery, but she was smiling. Smiling at _me._

See?

I knew this masking of feelings thing would make her feel better – and maybe even get me more 'thank you' hugs.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Poor Oliver and his wall…ness.

Ahem, anyways, thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading. Please leave a review on your way out if you can.

P.S. Jake lovers, I'm sorry. In this fic, Jake is the equivalent of a jerk. Hope you can bear with that. Those who don't like Jake… enjoy:)

P.P.S. And, I decided to finish this before 'Not Exactly What I Wanted' because I ended up writing too much for that story, so that this one would've probably been updated towards the end of August. I had much less left to write for this one, so this one's gettin' done first.


	8. Thoughts

**Okay, importante announcement to all readers (again).**

The end of this story is drawing veeery near. As a gift to my faithful and extremely patient readers and reviewers, I've decided to give you guys the choice of who you want the last chapter's POV to be in – **Miley's** or **Oliver's**. I've already written it in one of these two's POVs but I'd be glad to rewrite it. So _please_ leave a **vote** in your reviews. Polls will be open until the very last chapter, of course.

Next, for you Lilly/Jackson fans, there's a little Lackson in this chapter.

By the way – one hundred reviews, yay! Thank you, everyone who reviewed and managed to maintain interest in this story.

Ahem, with that said, here's the next chapter.

Reminder: **This fic is always in Oliver's POV, **_**unless it says otherwise.**_

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 8: Thoughts**_

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**Lilly's POV**

I guess anyone could see what happened next coming. Oliver had become a hero – after being scolded, then congratulated, by the lifeguard that was present the day of that freaky wave.

Pictures, interviews, and newspaper articles had been all about him. And he always smiled. Through everything – despite the fact the fact that his mouth had been glued upside down for the past four months. Still, something in his suddenly Okenish attitude didn't sit well with me. He was smiling and answering questions with life and interest in his eyes, but he just seemed off. Like he was sad about something, and hiding it. Well, technically, he'd been that way for a while, but this time, he didn't inform me of his plan to crawl into a shell directly.

So, he and I were walking down towards Rico's surf shop the other day – about a week after the wave – when this guy from some newspaper ran up to us with a tape recorder in his hand.

He said hi, then immediately started firing questions – one of which included whether or not I was his girlfriend. I think I threw up in my mouth a little before I laughed really loud and started snorting when this was asked, and Oliver just shook his head and claimed in a very 'Okenish' tone, "nope. I'm still single".

The reporter didn't seem to believe him at first.

Then he asked another question.

"So, what drove you to risk your life in order to save this girl, Malibu local, Miley Stewart?"

Oliver froze a little – I noticed. He was suddenly looking somewhere else, other than the tape recorder in the man's hands. I recall this question being asked less than it should've been in all his interviews. After a moment, he looked back at the man.

"Well, she's not just some girl. She's very important to me. She's one of my best friends. That's what drove me to save her. I gave a da –" he caught himself before he could indirectly reference Jake rudely, "I – cared about her enough to do what I did for her," he finished with an off smile.

The man nodded, his brow furrowed, and began to scratch his chin, as if he believed there was something more to the answer he'd been given. Nevertheless, he moved on.

"And, I heard that teen superstar, Jake Ryan, aided you in rescuing her – because, after all, he and this girl are going out. Any truth to this rumor?"

Oliver frowned, and I only stared at him intently, wondering what he was going to say.

He was going to share the glory that Jake didn't deserve, therefore pleasing Miley, or, laugh maniacally (internally), and tell the truth.

I seriously did wish he'd stop trying to make Miley happy without her knowledge. I was really too kind and heroic of him, and Miley's obliviousness was starting to get to me.

While I continued to be annoyed, I watched him and waited.

A small, sad smile appeared on his face again.

I couldn't help but think, 'No! No more chivalry, _please_'.

Before I could think about how dumb Oliver was being, the words clumsily tumbled from his mouth.

"No comment."

The reporter blinked curiously, as did I.

The man opened his mouth, looking at Oliver curiously, ready to make him elaborate on the question. After a short moment, Oliver rose his eyebrow, and the guy's mouth finally shut.

"Okay then. Thank you for your time, Mr. Oken," he smiled kindly. He then walked away, back the way he came. I looked at Oliver as we took our seats at the surf shop.

"What was that? You had the perfect opportunity to slam Jake Ryan's pretty boy face into the ground!" I exclaimed in a hushed voice. I didn't want anyone else to hear me bashing Jake.

"I don't know what you mean," Oliver smiled unsurely.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he looked away quickly.

"You… you're already a… a hero. Why don't you just tell the truth? About how _you_ did everything? About how Jake just stood there, practically waiting for Miley to drown!" I said, my voice quieting as my tone grew harsher at the last part. "If you think this is going to make Miley happy, it isn't. You're just letting her be with some guy who doesn't even really care for her – not as much as he should, anyways."

He looked contemplative for a moment – either that, or he was staring at the lunch menu. Well, I had reason to believe he was actually using his brain instead of his stomach, judging from the way that he looked back at me.

He paused for a moment before he spoke.

"Well, one day she'll find a better guy, right? For now, let her be happy under the illusion of her 'perfect' boyfriend," he said, his voice hardening as he referenced Jake.

I paused for a minute, and looked at him, while he looked back at the lunch menu.

"Why don't you just say something? Nothing Jake ever did for Miley – if he ever did anything for her – could compare to what _you_ did… you were ready to give your life for her. If that doesn't make her love you back, then I don't know what –"

"Look, Lilly," he suddenly snapped back, his hands balling into fists. The expression on his face was rather angry and annoyed. He must've noticed my surprise, since his expression faltered and softened a little. "I'm okay. I don't… love Miley anymore anyways."

Ugh, Oliver is such a doofus.

"Eventually, Smokin' Oken – now know as, 'The Oken' ," he pointed to himself, a cocky smile coming on his face, "gets tired of chasin' a girl who won't chase back."

For some reason, I felt like I'd heard that said before… anyways, yeah.

I was about to tell him what a horrible actor he was, until he stood to leave.

"So, you know, Lilly? Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine without her," he continued, shrugging, backing away slowly, the same cocky smile on his face.

He eventually backed into some blonde bimbo, who looked as if she was about to slap or insult him as she turned to face him.

Once he turned around and let out a quick apology, she smiled flirtatiously, probably recognizing him as 'the guy from the news'.

I shook my head, as I watched them walk away.

"What's gotcha down, babe?" Jackson's voice came softly – out of nowhere, might I add – and I nearly fell out of my chair.

He laughed, as I regained my composure, holding a hand to my heart.

"Apparently, you – almost," I smirked. He returned my smirk with a small smile, and a wiggle of his eyebrows, almost leaning in to kiss me, when I held my hand up, pushing him back by his forehead. "_Not_ in public."

He looked surprised at first, then let out a laugh, smiling and winking at me.

"_Right._ Your mom don't like bad boys, eh?" he asked, flexing his muscles – which were nearly nonexistent.

He always found some way to take my mind off of whatever was troubling me. That was probably the reason I started liking him.

"No. She doesn't like short ones," I replied, as I stuck my tongue out playfully. He pretended to look offended, then I sighed.

"Okay, so what's the story?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"Oliver and Miley."

A long pause followed.

"… yeah…" Jackson's eyebrows rose, urging me to go on.

"They're not together," I shrugged.

"Duh. Miley's with the dumb blonde kid," he shrugged. I narrowed my eyes at him. It might've just occurred to him now that I was blonde. "I – I mean – yeah. Yeah, she's with that… guy – that famous, bogus kid," he added with a nod. "Jake Ryan. Yeah, him," he finally let out.

"Correct. Well, Oliver…" I looked at Jackson cautiously. I didn't wanna tell him outright. I wasn't sure if I was even allowed to tell him about Oliver's "secret feelings".

"Likes her…" Jackson nodded. "Pretty obvious, after the whole "I reesked mah life for yu, and care for nah-thing baht your 'appiness", thing," he said, adding air quotes and a French accent in for some reason.

I nodded, thinking.

"Well, they'll get there on their own, somehow, if it's really meant to be, right? If ever my sister decides to smarten up, then, I guess that'll be the time," he said shrugging. "With my approval first, of course," he said, winking at me.

I wasn't really going to listen to him.

Miley needed to be confronted about some things. Mostly her… dare I say, stupidity about certain things.

So, I just nodded, and let Jackson have his little moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

He looked surprised.

"Really?" he asked, sounding both surprised and happy.

"If you give me a free soda, I'm positive you're one hundred percent correct," I smiled innocently, nodding as I spoke.

He stared down at me, trying not to be fazed – but 'the face' always worked.

"Fine," he sighed, giving in. "A free soda for _**my**__ cutie pie_ over here," he said, deliberately loudly, handing me the cup, causing people to turn and look in our direction.

I smacked his hand hard, and he winced, pulling it away, looking like a hurt puppy.

"Mad woman…" he murmured to himself, still looking at me.

I only smiled to myself as he tended to another customer.

Now I had time to seriously think about the 'situation' at hand.

Maybe I'd just watch what'd happen over the next few days… see if my best friend would gain some sense. If not, well, I dunno. Hopefully I wouldn't have to resort to locking my two best friends in a room together…

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Does anyone notice that I've switched from 'Lily' to 'Lilly'? I had to. Looking at 'Lily' started to annoy me, so I switched over to 'Lilly'. Heheh. Anyways, thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote!


	9. Shout

Sorry for the long period of time in between updates. I'm multitasking, since I've got so many Moliver plot bunnies running around in my head that I wanna get down.

Anyways, the story is almost coming to a close.

**The next chapter is the last chapter. **

Finally! Most votes for the POV thing are for Oliver, but you've still got a chance to vote if you wish.

Someone addressed that Oliver's fear of water isn't cannon. I know. :)

Anyways, here's the second last chapter.

(just a reminder, read this in** Arial** font… the formatting looks so much better)

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 9: Shout**_

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**Lilly's POV**

The sun had begun to set when I started making my way to Miley's place. I was gonna check up on her and shoo Jake away from the house.

I'd reached the door when I noticed it was completely dark inside… though there was light shining in through the patio doors. So, I walked around the house to the back, and just as I'd suspected, they were there.

I heard Jake talking to Miley in his soothing, charming voice, which made me involuntarily roll my eyes. Being as stealthy as I could, I bent a little, peering in through the railing around the patio.

Jake was sitting next to Miley, holding her hand.

He was looking down at her worriedly, and she was looking at her feet, an unsure expression on her face. Was she finally breaking up with him? It would've saved me the trouble of convincing her to.

As I listened, I only found I had more work cut out for me.

Stupid Jake.

"I was so worried. I was afraid of losing you," he murmured quietly, giving her hand a soft squeeze. She turned her head to look up at him, a slight smile coming on her face.

I almost said 'aw', but shook awake to realize he was just charming her, with those cheesy acting skills.

"Am I a bad luck charm, or something?" he laughed a little, after gazing into her eyes. "It seems that my coming here only caused something weird like this to happen."

Aha! So he knows his evil aura could've been the cause of our almost-deaths!

"No, don't say that…" she whispered, strengthening her grip on his hand. "No. Things like this just happen, right? No one has control over that kind of stuff. Anyways, I'm glad you're back, and I'm glad I made it through to see you again," she smiled.

I shook my head, thoughts of ways to make Jake disappear vanishing momentarily, as I watched his magic truly begin to work.

Miley's eyes became half lidded, and she leant in to kiss Jake.

Thankfully, he backed away last minute.

"Maybe Oliver's your good luck charm," he said a coolly, and Miley's eyes became wide, as she pulled her hand away from his.

"W – what?" she asked, a little panicky.

She just mirrored my reaction.

"Well… he saved you, didn't he? That's something that most girls would definitely see as a good attribute in a guy. He saved your _life_," he said, his voice shaking a little. He sounded a little angry.

She looked contemplative for a split second.

"Yes. He did. And he's my _best friend,_ and I'll never be able to repay him for what he did for me, but that doesn't mean I…" her face changed from a little sickened and surprised, and turned softer "… love him," she said as her voice trailed off quietly. She turned to look into Jake's eyes. "I love _you_, Jake," her voice shook a little, as if she was just trying to convince herself.

Did I just hear a hint of doubt? Did I just _see_ a hint of doubt?

Well, judging from Jake's face, I was the only other person around who saw and heard some doubt besides Miley. He began to smile, then he brought his hand up to pull her face closer.

"Thanks, babe. I needed to hear that," he said, and his tone was plainly filled with 'I win, Oken loses'. He finally kissed her, and I had to look away before I began to gag.

Ugh.

Stupid Jake.

Obviously Miley was having second thoughts about movie star man. But I wasn't entirely sure how I should've gone about shaking her awake.

-----  
-----

I decided I'd go and keep Jackson some company at the surf shop while I waited for Jake to get out of Miley's place. It did take a while… and I don't wanna know why, even though I'm pretty sure I knew why.

When I finally saw Jake pass by the surf shop, I made my way back to the house, where I saw Miley sitting on the couch, alone. Finally. It was hard to tell her emotions from where I was standing… but when she finally let me in, I saw that happy, oblivious look on her face – the "I heartz Jakey FOREVURZ!" look.

"So, I saw Jake leaving today…." I started slowly.

She looked at me, smiling.

"Okay, I can tell he probably did something very right," I said, forcing my own smile.

She nodded vigorously, and I stopped myself from smacking my own head.

"He was _so _sweet about everything. It's been a week since the… thing happened, and he hasn't left my side since," she sighed, holding both hands to her heart.

Well, it was official.

Both of my best friends were really screwed up.

My best guy friend was in denial and had some sort of split personality disorder – considering his giant hop from secretly emo kid to Smokin' Oken within hours of almost dying.

And, my best girl friend was living in her world of dreams and delusions, which included Jake.

"Yeah, I noticed," I laughed slightly, through grit teeth.

She looked at me thoughtfully for a minute, with a face that actually seemed to be aware of what was going on. Wow, that was different.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, crossing her arms. She appeared to be analyzing my face.

"No," I said quickly. Well, nothing that concerned me specifically anyways. Boy did I want to shake her awake.

"Lilly," she looked at me, with her 'you can't hide' face. "C'mon. You did your laughy teeth thing that you do when something's wrong."

I had a laughy teeth thing?

"Oh – well, I dunno," I shrugged.

Ohmygosh.

I was skipping out on this opportunity for harsh confrontation.

She was about to say something else, when I stopped her.

"Actually, yes. There is something wrong," I nodded. "You're… you're really looking at Jake like he was your hero or something – like he was the guy that saved your life," I started off, trying to sound casual.

"What d'you mean?" she asked curiously, though I could already sense her anger starting to rise. Miley was just one of those people with a snappy temper.

"Jake didn't do anything, and, you're kinda acting like he did… everything," I shrugged, letting out a small nervous laugh.

"What d'you mean he 'didn't do anything'? He's doing something for me now. He's helping me through –"

"But he didn't do anything when it _counted_!" I suddenly blurted out, a little louder than I had intended.

I froze, and Miley's eyes widened at me for a minute.

"So, what exactly are you saying?" Miley asked, her voice stiff and completely unkind.

"I'm saying, maybe you should start giving Oliver the attention you owe him," I quieted.

She paused for a minute, her expression going soft. Then, her face hardened.

"Well, he doesn't need my attention. He's got everyone else's attention, now. He hasn't really even talked to me much ever since he became the nation wide hero," she said, a little venomously.

Whoa, she was _so _out of line.

Oliver. Saved. Her. Life.

_Helloooo?_ Anyone home?!?

"Well, you started it! He's only staying away because you're staying away."

"What do you mean? I came to him the minute he came back to this house. He wouldn't even look at me until I started crying. Anyways, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Jake, so please stop making him seem like the bad guy," she snapped. "He didn't save my life – I know many people wouldn't've done that, but…"

Wow.

She actually found a way to turn a conversation that had veered off topic _from_ Jake back to the topic _of_ Jake.

She stood up angrily, and began to pace. She did that when she was angry.

Now I had a reason to be snappy too. In honor of my friend – especially since she just made Jake look like "the bad guy" with her own words.

"Exactly. But, Oliver did it. He risked his life just to save _you,_" I pointed out softly.

Her eyes didn't leave the floor as she paced behind the kitchen counter.

"And, what's this? You can't stand that Oliver stole the spotlight for once? Your boyfriend can't _always_ be in focus, you know!"

"Watch it, Lilly," she said warningly.

This response only fueled my anger.

"And what has Jake been doing for you lately, huh? What has he even _done _for you?"

No response. So, I continued to talk.

"Let me think. Well, you had a little love hate thing going on between both of you, then he kissed you, and left you. Now, let's look at what Oliver's done for you," I began, pulling my hand up to start ticking the numbers off my fingers. "Well, he's keeping your secret well – no matter how many girls he could get just by telling them that he's Hannah's friend. He brings you all the things you forget at school – even when you don't need them – remember, the mascot head? He risked embarrassing himself singing in that tone deaf voice on live television, and in front of a huge audience, just to help you remember the words to your own song – even when he had every reason NOT to help you, but to laugh at you. He does anything you want him to do! Carries your books, even goes to get his nails done and sit checking out guys with you!" the volume of my voice was increasing, and I didn't even realize it – I didn't even remember that Miley was supposed to be listening. "And, the biggest thing ever – he goes into the big scary ocean, filled with big scary waves, to save you! And, need I remind you that he's deathly afraid of water?"

I'd already stopped ticking things off with my fingers when I was finished with my passionate rant.

She'd already stopped in her tracks, looking at me with widened eyes, and an expression I couldn't exactly read. She remained silent, so I spoke again.

"I don't know how that could ever compare to the pretty boy zombie slayer you're so in love with," I shook my head, a sarcastic laugh escaping the back of my throat as I backed away. "This zombie slayer, who supposedly loved you didn't move an inch when he knew you were there," I continued smiling, as I neared the door. "It's clear here who deserves to be made to look like "the bad guy". Oliver might be getting all this attention from the whole country, but the only person he wants it from is completely shutting him out. So don't you dare try to blame Oliver for some stupid reason, when all he's ever done is _anything_ he could to please you," I nearly spat, surprised at my own venomous tone.

Before I knew what I was doing, my feet had already carried me out the door, and down the driveway.

Resisting the temptation to look back at Miley's reaction, when I could tell she was probably still wide eyed, I continued to walk.

Well, I'd just carelessly shot all my good ammo and pro-Oliver material at her.

It was up to her whether or not she wanted to smarten up and open her eyes to who _really_ cared for her.

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_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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Miley is the queen of denial.

Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers for their patience. I probably wouldn't have considered completing this fic if so many people hadn't been insistent on it. And, remember…the next chapter is the last chapter…. If you still wanna vote, go for it.


	10. Turn

Well, this is it. The final chapter… finally! After almost a year. Sheesh. Thank you, everyone, for sticking with this story and continuing to review! Your reviews are what really compelled me to finish this story, even though I had every intention of abandoning it a long while ago. So, see? Reviews do matter.

But, honestly… did ya think I was gonna leave you guys hanging? I wouldn't abandon this story just before the last chapter. I'm not _that_ cruel ;)

So here it is. For the poll, anyone who voted usually voted for Oliver, and everyone else didn't care, or read my author's notes xD I had initially intended for Oliver's POV to be for the last chapter, so yeah. And, it took me a long, long, long time to finally decide on a final chapter. I had it written out… then I kept rewriting it every time I went to edit it. An ending I had considered was WAY open ended, and… well, you'll see what I chose for the ending, soon, so read on. Oh - and keep in the mind that the timeline is all screwy. As I began the fic a while ago, and certain canon things have come up since then, I decided to use them, so try not to pay notice to the scrambley timeline.

Now, please enjoy the final chapter of _Anything_.

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_**Anything**_

_**Chapter 10: Turn**_

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The sun dropped into the water slowly as I dug my hands into my pockets.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I dragged my bare feet along the sand, walking closer to the water.

I know. Anyone who saw me would think I'd finally cracked, because, I've always posed a… strong dislike of water.

Then again, this was the way I'd been hiding from reporters and stuff all this week. Everyone knew what happened, and I kinda got tired of the spotlight – and I didn't even know that was possible for a guy like me.

The week had been quite eventful. I'd gone on a few short dates with girls that'd seen me on the news, and in newspapers and stuff. Then I'd usually end up leaving early because I finally start looking past how pretty they are. Other than that, I'd been interviewed so much that I pretended to have laryngitis so I wouldn't have to speak anymore – and that was only halfway through the fifth day.

Anyways, I'd spent most of my evenings here at the beach. People were still getting over the wave, so kids and their families came and left early. Obviously couples didn't have the same mindset, because I'd just passed a couple that had been going at it under an umbrella…

So, after I walked really far away from them, I went close to the water – not too close – and I laid back and stared at the darkening sky.

Everything was so peaceful. There was only the quiet sound of small waves lapping up against the shoreline, and the soft breeze blowing every now and then.

In fact, it was so peaceful, that I closed my eyes, and actually ended up drifting off to sleep.

When I finally woke up, it was because someone was calling my name over and over again.

I blinked my eyes open, a pair of blue eyes staring down into my own. It was a lot colder than it had been earlier. That didn't matter though, because I felt all warm and tingly inside anyways.

"What are you doing here?" Miley's voice rang, and I almost sighed in relief.

She was kneeling behind my head, and looking down at me. I was right. She was even more beautiful upside down.

"Sleeping," I said, remembering to answer.

"… here?" she asked, looking away and around at the deserted area. The sky was already a deep shade of blue, and the stars were slowly starting to appear. Afterwards, she looked back at me.

"Yeah."

"I – uh – thought you hated water," she said, and I rolled over, and leant my head against my hand as I looked up at her. She looked as if she'd touched a sore spot. I'm glad she didn't address the whole 'jumping into crazy waves to save her when I was afraid of water' thing.

"Oh, I do. I just wanted to get away from the reporters and stuff," I said. Before she could raise her eyebrows in that adorable way she always did, I spoke. "I was here earlier. I just fell asleep."

She rolled her eyes, looking sort of amused.

"Dang boy, you could fall asleep anywhere…" she said with a fond smile, and I had to rise, and sit up on my knees and look directly into her face.

I wasn't supposed to like her right now. She had Jake, and she was happy, which made me happy. But, it was just too hard not to feel all weird inside because of the way the moonlight was hitting her…

"What time is it anyways?" I broke my own thoughts before I could get too carried away.

I just realized she'd been looking back into my eyes for however long I'd been staring at her, cause, in a very flustered way, she pulled up her sweater sleeve, and checked her watch.

"Oh, um…" she mumbled, her face lighting up a little. Maybe the cold was starting to make her cheeks pink. "It's eight-thirty," she said, as she pulled the grey sleeve back down her wrist.

She hugged her sweater closer, as another gust of wind blew. The fact that we were right next to the ocean did not make things any warmer – most especially for her.

"Oh. I guess I should be heading back, I guess," I said. Agh, I'm such a dork. I said "I guess" twice. Oh well. She's used to my being an idiot anyways.

I stood up first, and brushed some sand off of my knees quickly. Then, I extended a hand out to her.

She looked at it for a minute, as she bit her bottom lip. I wondered why she was even hesitating. Was my hand not clean enough or something? She extended her hand a little, then, seeming impatient, I grabbed her wrist and tugged her up and onto her feet as gently as I could.

She stared at me for a little longer. My hair must've been messed up or something. I shrugged off the hopes that she might've been interested in me – she had Jake, remember? – ran a hand through my hair, turned, and began to walk way, expecting her to walk along beside me.

I was a few feet away when I noticed no one was following me.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Miley get all flustered looking again.

"You're not really planning to stay here are you? It's late… plus, when I last remembered there was a couple down here going at it. If you're not careful they might ask you to join in," I teased, and instead of rolling her eyes, she jogged up alongside me.

I expected a remark about my perverse mind, but instead got silence.

Whoa. What the hell did Jake do to her? If anything, he was probably responsible for Miley's odd attitude.

I shrugged the thought off.

As long as she was… happy being changed like that… I guess I could roll with it.

After a few minutes of walking along the sand in silence, it'd just occurred to me that this had been the first time in a week that we'd seen each other. She was nowhere to be found… and Lilly was too busy flirting with Jackson to inform me of her whereabouts. I hadn't even had time to swing by the Stewarts' to check up on her… so I guess the fact that we hadn't talked for that long was my fault. Plus, I never thought to call her…

"So, how was your week?" I started.

"Hmm?

"We haven't talked or even looked at each other for that long, so, yeah. And don't ask how my week was – you already know how it is when you're the center of attention for the media," I said, a little boastfully, so I wouldn't seem too sentimental.

"I… nothing really happened," she said, swinging her arms absentmindedly. I thought it was cute. Heck, she could get into a catfight and pull out some girl's hair and I'd still think it was cute – or really, really hot.

"Have you been doin' okay?" I asked, remembering the reason for my "fame".

She paused, her eyes widening just a little, as if she just remembered something awful for just a moment.

"Oh, yeah. It wasn't too hard to get over it… I stopped dreaming about it," she said, and somehow that sentence tugged at my heart, so much so that I wanted to hug her. "I've been alright. I should be asking you though – you're the one who's _deathly_ afraid of water."

I smiled silently, and we both looked ahead.

"And you're the one who saved my life," she added nonchalantly. I looked at her, and she was smiling, her cheeks still rosy.

I blinked once, then breathed out, and looked back ahead.

"My week was pretty eventful, I guess," she continued. "I've been doing a lot more things than just being saved by my best friend and having nightmares."

Ah, talkative Miley. Just the way I always liked her.

"Oh? What else did you do?" I asked, listening as we neared the staircase.

"Well… I got into an argument with Lilly," she said.

So that's why Lilly went all pissy at the mention of Miley's name earlier today…

I was about to ask why, but she went on.

"And after that, I broke up with Jake."

And from that point forward, I decided I'd only ever drink decaff again, because my heart was racing as fast as it would have if I'd drank ninety thousand cups of Starbucks.

"Oh…?" I asked, my voice shaky.

I wasn't supposed to be this excited.

I wasn't supposed to be this damn happy.

But hell, I felt like throwing confetti into the air and doing 'the hustle'.

"Yeah. Turns out he's not that great of a guy anyways," she continued.

I nodded, still a little shaken at the good news.

And Miley said he 'wasn't that great of a guy'! SCORE!

We climbed up the stairs and reached the bridge going back to Rico's.

"I figured, there are better guys out there. You know? Guys who will look after you, and always be there when you need them – no matter how stupid the male species can be most of the time."

I gulped and walked alongside her, as we reached the end of the bridge. This was where I could make the escape. Her house was one way, mine was the other. She wouldn't have to finish her sentence, and I wouldn't have to be this hopeful.

So, as we walked past Rico's, and bunch of night customers who were watching some game on the small TV and drinking, I opened my mouth to interrupt Miley, and began to walk backwards towards my house.

I didn't get the chance to, because she grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards her house.

"Yeah. Lilly reminded me those kinds of guys are closer than you think," she said, dragging my along.

"Oh…?" I said for the second time tonight.

"Mmhmm. Then I remembered some guy I met a while ago. So, I spent a whole day thinking about him, and stuff. That's what I did yesterday. I thought all about him," Miley said, and I sucked in a deep breath, not knowing what to think anymore.

"After that, I wrote a song."

"…Miley, I think I should be heading home," I said stupidly. Oy. Why couldn't I be brave? I could be a wall that could swim, and I could be secretly emo for a long time, but I couldn't listen to her rave about some guy she wrote a song about?

"You don't wanna hear my song?" she asked, as we slowed down walking. We were now walking at a slow pace, side by side, hand in hand, in front of Miley's house, right in front of her picket fence.

"Oh, I'd love to, but…"

…

I couldn't think of anything. There was no denying that face. What happened?! I was the one who was confident earlier… she was the one that was all frozen and flustered. Not. Me. Now_ I'm_ all frozen and flustered.

"You wanted to hear about my day, didn't you?" she asked me, with some look on her face that wasn't quite the puppy dog face. It was a much milder version. Or maybe it was just her normal face working its mysterious magic on me again.

"But, I – my mom –"

Before I could formulate an excuse that didn't make any sense, she dragged me past her picket fence, and around to her backyard, which was facing a different part of the beach.

I looked out at the stars, and the moon shining above the water, and how peaceful and beautiful, and kind of eerie, the ocean was at night, until Miley let go of my hand. I had a sudden sense of loss, as I turned to watch her.

She plucked Lucky Lulu out of the guitar stand sitting next to the sliding doors, and took a seat on the bench.

She gave me a look that said, "Sit".

I pulled a picnic chair from the table and turned it to face her. Taking a seat, I watched her as she played a happy sounding chord, then cleared her throat.

She looked up at me and began to play.

_It's not so pretty all the time  
but you don't mind  
To you it's alright_

_Gonna stay in bed today  
Cuz I can't stand the light  
Don't know why I get so down  
I won't be much fun tonight  
And I can't believe you still wanna hang around me_

It's not so pretty all the time  
but you don't mind  
To you it's alright

As I am 

_Is how you take me  
Never try to push or  
Make me different  
When I talk you listen to me  
As I am is how you want me and  
I know I've found the pieces missing  
I'm looking at him_

Her strumming faltered and stopped at the last lyric, and she held my gaze.

I never knew how much I loved Hannah Montana until I lived without hearing her voice for a week.

Then again, I could've done without the song for some random guy I didn't know – some guy I'd lost to again.

I smiled at her, and nodded.

"It's great Miles. I'm sure he'll love it," and I stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home before all the dinner gets emptied into my brothers' stomachs."

I turned away, and heard a slight disarray of strings, which was the sound of Miley putting the guitar back in its place.

"That's it?" she asked me.

I turned around.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Yes, that was it. I was happy she was happy, but I didn't want to think about it… and I didn't want her rubbing his song on my face.

"I mean – Oliver, I – It's - the song is –" she seemed at a loss for words, looking everywhere but me as she searched for some sort of explanation. "Dang flabitt Oliver, I wrote the song for _you_," she let out, stomping her foot into the patio floor. She only seemed to realize her words afterwards, since only then did a blush come to her face.

Oh, and me?

Yeah.

It took all I had not to faint in front of her... again.

"Huh?" I managed to let out.

"Uh, yeah. I wrote it for you. I thought you'd've gotten it when I sang, _I know I've found the pieces missing, I'm looking at him,_" she sang in a rush, her face red as she rubbed the inside of her arm with her other hand. She looked away from me, and seemed to be looking at the patio railing behind me.

"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah… I was talking about you the whole time, you donut," she said, and I felt some feeling seep back. "I… you've just always been there for me. You saved my life and that didn't even open my eyes. It took Lilly's lecture to –"

"Wait, what? She didn't tell you that I had a crush on you all through sixth grade and started liking you again this year and that I've been insanely and secretively jealous of Jake the whole time, did she?"

I awaited her answer, though she just stood still, staring at me awkwardly.

I bit my tongue, realizing that I'd just said everything about… everything. Just now – and really fast.

"_Huh_?"

"…Nothing."

Miley shook her head, and stepped closer to me.

I paused and waited for her to say or do something.

Did she really like me? Or did she just feel bad for me now? I mean… she wrote a song for me, so I guess that counted for something. A big something to me.

While I was in deep thought about the situation, she suddenly looked up, looking very determined.

The next thing I knew, her hand was balled into a fist, grasping at the front of my shirt, and I was pulled down, forced to kiss her – though I couldn't really complain…

The kiss was short, but the feeling of her warm, soft lips against mine was already emblazoned in my mind. I was frozen against her, as she pulled away and released my shirt, smoothing the wrinkles against my chest.

Yeah, this was _way_ better than dinner.

I was at a loss for words, as I looked down and watched her every move.

Then, Miley looked back up at me, with a face I couldn't exactly read. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't angry. She just looked into my eyes, and I couldn't look away. I felt her arms close around my waist, and her face press up against my chest, and I stood there.

But at that moment, I felt like everything I had done for her had become worth it. Not that it hadn't been worth it before, but, this was… well, it was nice to have something good happen to me for once – good things that involved Miley.

So, finally getting my head on right, I pulled back and put a hand on her face, and gave her a quick, soft kiss.

Afterwards, she looked at me, her face suddenly turning a bright shade of pink.

I guess that meant she didn't mind.

I felt my own face get hot, and withheld a laugh at how awkward and… _right_ things felt. Being daring again, I brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Then she smiled widely at me.

And I smiled back.

She put her arms around me and sighed into my chest, and I couldn't help but smile really widely too. Things were_ finally_ going my way.

_**------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**The End**_

_**------------------------------------------------------------ **_

There ya have it.

No big make out scenes there (not to say there won't be in a **certain other** **multi-chapter fic **of mine. Heheh).

My next project is completing NEWIW, which is a much happier fic, so please feel free to take a look if you're interested – but beware of multiple love interests (of course my heart rests with Moliver though, so you know that means there'll be _some_ Moliver goodness in there).

Also, if you're a Moliver fan, don't forget to join the forum. You can find the link on my profile. There, we're currently discussing how we will express our rage of the lack of Moliver to the public, as well as how we're planning on letting everyone know of our existence (because in the public eye and magazines, Loliver is the strong standing couple… and, yeah, that has to change)_, and _how we're trying to buffer the deluge of Loliver and Jiley fics around here.

And if anyone's wondering what song that was it's "As I Am" by... Hannah Montana! Don't it just annoy you that there are so many songs that are perfect for Moliver, by Hannah herself, yet the writers refuse to utilize them? Oy.

Well, now all I can do is continue to write on about the Moliver that the _**Hannah Montana writers**_ (ARGH!!!) won't write… _and_ thank my loyal readers and reviewers for sticking with me for so long with this particular fic. So, thank you, thank you, _thank you, _and I'll see you guys soon in another Miley/Oliver-filled adventure.


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